This invention relates to the packaging of pharmaceutical compositions, and particularly concerns the packaging of drugs to encourage patient compliance, that is, to encourage patients to take drugs in the proper dosages and at the times prescribed by their doctors.
Conventionally, when a doctor prescribes medication for a patient, the prescription is taken to a pharmacy where the appropriate quantities of the prescribed drugs are placed in one or more containers on which the doctor's directions for administration are placed. All too frequently, however, the container is simply marked "Take as directed" or "Take as before", leaving it up to the patient to remember the correct details.
It is essential, if the prescribed treatment is to be fully effective, for the patient to comply with the specific instructions for administration concerning the medication. This is obviously easier when the instructions are clearly written on the container, but even with specific instructions non-compliance with the instructions frequently occurs, and ultimately, the patient either deliberately or, more usually, inadvertently fails to take the appropriate dosage at the appropriate time. Clearly the patient who tends to be forgetful is most prone to non-compliance, but taking the required medication at the right time is also a serious problem for the geriatric patient who often has the added problem of having to take several different drugs at different frequencies and in different quantities. In addition, it has also been found that non-compliance is a problem with younger patients and, particularly, busy executives who simply forget to take their drugs at the correct times.
If the prescribed treatment is not followed, then not only is it not fully effective, but more seriously it is possible that non-compliance may in some circumstances lead to dangerous side effects.